Opening Remarks by 2M Indranee Rajah for the National Youth Dialogue on Public Housing

Hi everyone, good evening. It's great to be here with all of you and thank you for joining us this evening. I also want to thank National Youth Council for organising this dialogue.

So today, let's talk about housing. Housing is an ever-green topic in Singapore. Some of you may be considering getting your first flat. For others, this may not be an immediate need but something that's a little bit further across the horizon but definitely one of those things that you are aiming for. And either way, it is always good to know about how we deal with housing in Singapore because at some point in our lives, all have to choose where we want to live and, for most, whether to buy a home of our own.

One thing that you should know is this statistic that you should bear in mind and remember - Singapore has one of the highest homeownership rates in the world. 90% of resident households own their homes and 80% of which is public housing, that is, HDB flats. This is actually a very remarkable statistic when you consider our small size and our lack of resources.

Since independence in 1965, the Government has been working to ensure that each generation has the opportunity to own their homes.

How do we do it? There are many different facets. But it all starts with long-term land use planning.

Long-Term Land Use Planning

Singapore is a small island. We have very limited land - 744 square-kilometres to be precise. This is far less than our neighbours, let alone bigger countries like the US, China or Russia. On the global map you can barely see Singapore compared to these other countries. Our land mass is less than a pinhead relative to that of the rest of the world.

And on this tiny, tiny, little space we have to provide for a host of competing needs - homes, schools, transport, industry, defence, green spaces, hospitals, and many other needs. So for us every inch of land matters and every piece of land set aside for one use means a trade off with another possible use.

We therefore address our land constraints in two ways.

First, every decision we make about land use involves balancing competing needs.

Second, we do our best to enlarge our space - reclaiming new land, building taller, or going deeper - all in order to create more options for ourselves and future generations.

All this takes long term land use planning. We plan not just 5 or 10 years ahead but also decades into the future.

Demand for Public Housing

Given that 80% of our residents live in public housing let me touch a bit on this. There is strong demand for public housing across the different buyer groups.

People are living longer, with many seniors choosing to age in their own homes. The seniors who have bought their homes want to stay there.

At the same time, more young people and singles want to own their own homes. This is not to mention the married couples and the married couples with children.

As a result, the average household size in HDB units has declined or reduced from almost 5 in 1980, to less than 3 in 2025. So your average household in 1980 would have been 5 people, in 2025, it's 3 people. Fewer people per household means more households and the need for more flats because every household would need a home.

So, even with fewer babies being born, and even without population growth, we need more HDB flats today than we did one or two decades ago simply because the household size has shrunk.

To meet some of this demand, we have ramped up our HDB construction. In the last term of Government, we launched over 100,000 BTO flats from 2021 to 2025.

We will continue to maintain a robust supply:

We have committed to launching 55,000 BTO flats from 2025 to 2027, that's in a space of just 2 years. We will go beyond if demand remains strong.

We will also increase the 2-room Flexi supply by almost 50% from 2026 to 2028, compared to 2023-2025, to meet growing demand from seniors and singles.

The increased supply has enabled us to introduce measures to allow more Singaporeans to buy an HDB flat and to meet their housing aspirations.

Last month, we raised the income ceiling to purchase subsidised HDB flats, to keep pace with income growth, as announced at the National Day Rally (NDR) by Prime Minister Wong.

And, as previously announced, we are studying lowering the eligibility age for singles.

Finding sites to meet demand for Public Housing

With demand for more HDB flats, we have to find more sites on which to build them.

To do this, we have to optimise existing land and make the best use of brownfield sites.

We do this in different ways:

Where possible we build higher, subject to aviation height limits. For instance, the upcoming public housing project at Pearl's Hill that will be over 60-storeys. That's going to be our highest public housing project yet.

We redevelop. For example, many golf courses will be redeveloped for other uses, including housing, after their leases expire. By 2030, we will have taken back more than 400 hectares of golf-course land, which is the size of almost 600 football fields, for redevelopment. This includes the Keppel Club golf course where HDB is developing the Berlayar estate, as part of the Greater Southern Waterfront.

If there are no suitable existing or brownfield sites, we need to consider developing housing on sites where there is greenery or which have been around for a very long time.

These are not decisions we make lightly. In shaping the plans, greenery and heritage are important to us too. We also take in feedback from technical experts within nature and heritage groups, as well as the wider public, and do our best to minimise and mitigate any impact on the environment or heritage.

We have conserved over 7,200 buildings and structures in over 100 areas. It is also why, after accounting for all the planned developments in the latest Master Plan, URA has set aside an extra 1,000 hectares of green space, on top of the existing 7,800 hectares.

So, as we build more to meet housing needs, we will do so carefully and responsibly, and decide in the best interests of Singapore and Singaporeans.

Affordability

We must also ensure that HDB flats are affordable. Housing is one of the biggest purchases you will make in your lifetime, and an important decision for youths. Keeping flats affordable is a key priority for MND.

As a young person who has just started working or is still studying and therefore not yet earning, paying a few hundred thousand dollars for a flat may seem like an insurmountable figure. However, it is affordable in Singapore because of the following:

First, BTOs are heavily subsidised by the Government, which immediately reduces them below comparable market rates.

Second, government grants.

Third, you can take a loan.

Fourth, CPF and the use of CPF to pay loan instalments

Lastly, personal savings from the time you start working, provided you make it a habit to save a little every month.

And as a result of this combination of factors, many BTO owners are actually able to service their HDB housing loans with little or no cash outlay.

BTO flats are priced for affordability, not cost recovery. They are priced significantly lower than comparable flats in the resale market, as HDB provides substantial market discounts.

For flats with choicer locational attributes that naturally command higher market values, we introduced the New Flat Classification Framework in 2024.

Under the framework, our largest category of flats - Standard - continues to receive the market discounts.

For Plus and Prime flats, which may be more centrally located or located closer to transport nodes, we price them with additional subsidies, on top of the market discounts. This keeps them affordable to a wide range of buyers across different incomes, and ensures a good social mix in our neighbourhoods.

To keep the system fair for other flat buyers who do not receive the additional subsidies, Plus and Prime flats come with additional restrictions, including a longer Minimum Occupation Period and subsidy recovery upon resale.

Grants. On top of these subsidies, first-timer families may also qualify for up to $120,000 in grants to further offset the price they need to pay.

Deferred Payment of loans. We know that many young Singaporeans may still be studying or are early in their careers when they apply for a flat. Through the Deferred Income Assessment scheme, eligible young couples can defer their income assessment for grants and loans until closer to key collection. That gives you time to earn a higher income, save up more in the interim period, and build up your CPF savings which further eases upfront costs.

To further ease upfront costs, the Staggered Downpayment Scheme allows eligible young couples to pay an initial downpayment of as low as 2.5%.

As a result of our measures, 9 in 10 first-timer families who collected the keys to their BTO flats in 2025 were able to service their HDB housing loans using their CPF, with little or no cash outlay.

Accessibility

We also support young Singaporeans to secure a flat. The majority of our flat supply is set aside for first-timer families, and they are given greater priority when balloting for flats.

First-timer families receive more ballot chances than second-timers. They also receive additional ballot chances after two or more unsuccessful BTO applications for Standard flats.

Most recently at last month's National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that from next year, first-timer families with or expecting children will receive one additional ballot chance for each Singapore Citizen child aged 18 and below.

To help families with three or more children to secure a flat more quickly, we enhanced the Third Child Priority Scheme earlier this year.

We increased the quota of new flats aside for such families, and expanded eligibility for the scheme to families expecting their third child.

We are also studying additional housing support for larger families as we recognise that they often want bigger homes.

We have also made moves to improve housing options for singles.

Since 2024, singles can purchase a new 2-room Flexi flat islandwide.

Last year, we also extended priority access under the Family Care Scheme to singles, when they apply for a new flat to live with or near their parents.

As I mentioned earlier, we are studying lowering the eligibility age for singles. In addition, we are also reviewing our schemes to better meet the needs of other groups of singles, such as those who may wish to buy a bigger flat together with their family members.

Conclusion

I hope what I have shared today has given you a clearer picture of Singapore's housing landscape.

I hope this has also given you a better sense of the options and support available to you, especially for those of you looking to be homeowners soon.

Singapore's housing story is still being written, and I welcome you to share your perspectives on how we can continue strengthening Singapore's housing system together.

Thank you, and I look forward to our dialogue.